The Mysterious Benedict Society

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?"

When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.

As our heroes face physical and mental trials beyond their wildest imaginations, they have no choice but to turn to each other for support. But with their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all?

Welcome to the Mysterious Benedict Society.

Customer Reviews: Read 102 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Great story to read aloud June 26, 2007
116 out of 121 found this review helpful

I read to my two sons, age 8 and 9 every night. I was looking for something just a little bit different. Typically they like illustrations to flesh out the narrative, like in the Moomintroll books or Here Be Monsters. The Mysterious Benedict Society is not (alas!) profusely illustrated so when we started it they sort of passively lay back in their beds to listen. By about the 4th page they were sitting up and by the end of the first chapter they were draped over my shoulders reading the pages with me. This book is absolutely captivating for young kids! We would pause while reading to see if we could work out what would happen next or how a knotty problem was overcome; my sons were absorbecd from beginning to end. Children can easily see themselves as the protagonists amd they love to try to figure out the puzzles. Mr. Stewart wants you to try to solve the mysteries with his characters and his writing sparkles with wit and humor. I certainly hope he has more childrens' books for us in the future. Highly recommended!

5 out of 5 stars

Loads of fun! March 21, 2007
44 out of 47 found this review helpful

I just loved this book. From start to finish it was flat out great. The characters were all interesting and deep (as opposed to superficial cliches), and the plot had some clever twists and neat puzzles. It was fun solving those puzzles along with the characters, too. So if you're looking for a fun read that's not about magic and dragons (as way too many kids books today are), I highly recommend The Mysterious Benedict Society! I can't wait for the sequel.

5 out of 5 stars

Great book April 4, 2007
37 out of 41 found this review helpful

I'm an adult with a child too young to read this one, but I'll put it away for a few years and bring it out again when the time is right. It is a great read with a unique story line, puzzles organically built in to the story, and good pacing. Best of all were the characters, especially the children, who came to life for me. Each one is an individual who is chose become part of the Society, not always for obvious reasons, but because of the contribution only they can make to the success of the mission. It's a great, old-fashioned-type children's book and I highly recommend it to parents looking for a book for their own precocious children.

3 out of 5 stars

Doesn't live up to its own standard April 6, 2007
33 out of 58 found this review helpful

The blurb in the front of this book doesn't quite cover the gist of the story, only describing the first two chapters. In a nutshell, four orphan children face the trials of becoming secret spies at a private school located on an island. It is neither as interesting nor as dull as that description sounds. In fact, for a book that talks a great deal about being special and different, this book is extremely mediocre.

The book basically espouses a radio-and-tv-free ideology and leans on individualism in aid of team-work as panacea to the world's ills. There is a great deal of talk about books and being different and being smart without much substance. There are several rather clunky explanations of words and subjects that interupt the flow of text. Also, the terrible "Emergency" that is present thoughout the book simply isn't as mesmerizing as the author intends it to be. Because of these foibles, I would lower the age level for this book from 9-12 to 8-10. Even younger would be able to have it read to them.

Author Stewart missed the magical goal of helping the reader feel that THEY could be one of the characters. In other words, this is a book about smart kids for other kids not quite as, well, smart.

5 out of 5 stars

An unexpected delight! March 6, 2007
22 out of 22 found this review helpful

This book caught my eye as I was leaving the library yesterday. I had been continuously studing for days and needed a fictional break. After some odd looks from the librarian ( I guess most college students don't check out philosophy books and children's mystery novels at the same time) I went to my car and began to read. To my surprise, I was reluctant to put it down to drive home. This book is so creative, wonderful, and so many other adjectives that I can't think of right now. There was so much in this book that I could identify with, and I found myself wishing that I was 11 again so I wouldn't have been able to read it so quickly. Bravo Mr. Stewart! Reymie, Sticky, Constance, the Great Kate Weather Machine, and Mr. Benedict have become some of my favorite charaters of all time and I can only hope that we might someday have another adventure together. I recommend this book for Gifted Children of any age, for there are truly many special oppertunities inside.

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